McCulloch 433691, MC550, 96083000300 manual Breaking in Your Tiller, Tilling Hints, Cultivating

OPERATION

BREAKING IN YOUR TILLER

Break-in your belt(s), pulleys and tine control before you actually begin tilling.

•Start engine, tip tines off ground by pressing handles down and engage tine control to start tine rotation. Allow tines to rotate for five minutes.

TILLING HINTS

CAUTION: Until you are accustomed to handling your tiller, start actual field use with throttle in slow position.

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To help tiller move forward, lift up the handles slightly (thus lifting depth stake out of ground). To slow down the tiller, press down on handles.

If you are straining or tiller is shaking, the depth stake is not set properly in the soil being tilled. The proper setting of the depth stake is through trial and error and depends upon the soil condition. (The harder or wetter the ground, the slower the engine and tine speed needed. Under these poor conditions, at fast speed the tiller will run and jump over the ground).

A properly adjusted tiller will dig with little effort from the operator.

•Tilling is digging into, turning over, and breaking up packed soil before planting. Loose, unpacked soil helps root growth. Best tilling depth is 4"-6". A tiller will also clear the soil of unwanted vegetation. The decomposition of this vegetable matter enriches the soil. Depending on the climate (rainfall and wind), it may be advisable to till the soil at the end of the grow- ing season to further condition the soil.

•Soil conditions are important for proper tilling. Tines will not readily penetrate dry, hard soil which may contribute to excessive bounce and difficult handling of your tiller. Hard soil should be moistened before tilling; however, extremely wet soil will “ball-up” or clump during tilling. Wait until the soil is less wet in order to achieve the best results. When tilling in the fall, remove vines and long grass to prevent them from wrapping around the tine shaft and slowing your tilling operation.

•You will find tilling much easier if you leave a row untilled between passes. Then go back between tilled rows. (See Fig. 10) There are two reasons for doing this. First, wide turns are much easier to negotiate than about-faces. Second, the tiller won’t be pulling itself, and you, toward the row next to it.

•Set depth stake for shallow tilling when working ex- tremely hard soil or sod. Then work across the first cuts at normal depth.

Fig. 10

CULTIVATING

Cultivating is destroying the weeds between rows to pre- vent them from robbing nourishment and moisture from the plants. At the same time, breaking up the upper layer of soil crust will help retain moisture in the soil. Best digging depth is 1"-3".

•You will probably not need to use the depth stake. Begin by tipping the depth stake forward until it is held by the stake spring.

•Cultivate up and down the rows at a speed which will allow tines to uproot weeds and leave the ground in rough condition, promoting no further growth of weeds and grass (See Fig. 11).

Fig. 11

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